Drain cock of engine oil pan for vehicle

ABSTRACT

A drain cock for an engine oil pan that can prevent the engine oil from leaking due to the wear and tear of a screw thread on the drain cock, the drain cock includes a drain hole established on the bottom of the engine oil pan, a receptacle for exchanging engine oil attached to open and close the drain hole, an insertion for exchanging engine oil inserted in or drawn out of the receptacle in a sliding fashion, a bolt and a spring established inside the insertion, and a nut cap for opening and closing oil, connected to the bottom of the bolt, for opening and closing the drain hole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-0111559, filed on Nov. 13, 2006, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGOUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle that can prevent the engine oil from leaking due to the wear and tear of a screw thread of the drain cock.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, lubrication devices are established in the bottom of an engine of a vehicle to supply lubricating oil to friction regions, thus making the operation of various systems smooth and maintaining the life span.

Each of the lubrication devices includes an oil tank storing operation oil in a predetermined amount to supply the same to the corresponding system operated using oil pressure generated by an oil pump. Here, the oil tank, a vessel made of steel sheet via a pressing process, is connected to the bottom of a cylinder block via a gasket that is put therebetween and connected with bolts. The oil tank includes a baffle plate established therein to prevent the oil from churning when the vehicle stops suddenly. A drain cock is provided on the bottom surface of the oil tank to draw the oil out of the oil tank.

However, conventional drain cocks have some drawbacks in that the screw portion of the drain cock may be damaged by an excessive torque applied when exchanging the oil or the screw portion may be worn and torn to leak the engine oil through the drain cock, thus contaminating the engine oil pan. Moreover, the leakage of the engine oil may cause serious problems in that the entire engine is damaged and the vehicle including the damaged drain cock breaks down, thus increasing the operation of repairing the vehicle and, accordingly, deteriorating the working efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle that can prevent the engine oil from leaking due to the wear and tear of a screw thread of the drain cock. Embodiments of the present invention further may provide a receptacle that enables the drain cock to be inserted in and drawn out of the engine oil pan in a drawer type and providing a nut cap for opening and closing oil to be inserted into a drain hole of the engine oil pan using a bolt and a spring.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle comprising a drain hole established on the bottom of the engine oil pan, a receptacle for exchanging engine oil attached to open and close the drain hole, an insertion for exchanging engine oil inserted in or drawn out of the receptacle in a drawer type, a bolt and a spring established inside the insertion, and a nut cap for opening and closing oil, connected to the bottom of the bolt, for opening and closing the drain hole.

As an exemplary embodiment, a rubber gasket is attached to the bottom of the nut cap to prevent an oil leakage.

As another exemplary embodiment, the receptacle includes three lateral surfaces established in the form of

to have a predetermined volume space therein and the other lateral surface is opened, through which the insertion is inserted, and an opening portion is provided on the top of the receptacle faced with the bottom of the engine oil pan, through which a portion of the insertion protrudes.

Moreover, the insertion comprises a first insertion and a second insertion, a bolt is inserted into the first insertion, a spring is inserted between the bolt and the nut cap, and a guide hole is formed in the second insertion, through which the nut cap moves in the up and down direction to open and close the drain hole.

Furthermore, a projection is established on the bottom of the nut cap and, if the bolt is unwound, the nut cap is inserted along with the guide hole into the drain hole by the elastic force of the spring so that the bottom of the nut cap presses the drain hole and the projection is inserted into the drain hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention will be described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof illustrated the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view depicting a preferred embodiment of a drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 3 a and 3 c are cross-sectional views depicting an operation state of the drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

A significant factor of the engine oil leakage is the existence of a screw thread in a drain cock, and damage to it as a drain hole 13 and the drain cock of an engine oil pan 10 are opened and closed when exchanging engine oil. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention reduce the possibility of such problem by providing a drain hole 13 of the engine oil pan 10 connected to the drain cock without the screw thread.

The drain cock in accordance with the present invention comprises a receptacle 11 for exchanging engine oil attached on the bottom of the engine oil pan 10 and an insertion 12 for exchanging engine oil inserted into the receptacle 11 in a sliding, drawer-like fitting. The receptacle 11 for exchanging engine oil attached on the bottom of the engine oil pan 10 includes a predetermined volume space for accommodating the insertion 12 therein and one side of the receptacle 11 is open in general.

Moreover, an opening portion 15 is established on the top of the receptacle 11 (if the bottom of the engine oil pan 10 is regarded as the bottom of the receptacle 11). Accordingly, if the insertion 12 is inserted through one side of the opened receptacle 11 in the horizontal direction, a portion of the insertion 12 protrudes through the opening portion 15. Here, a drain hole 13 is arranged in the middle of the bottom of the receptacle 11.

The insertion 12 for exchanging engine oil includes a first insertion 12 a protruding through the opening portion 15 and a second insertion 12 b inserted into the receptacle 11. The first insertion 12 a and the second insertion 12 b are formed in a body.

A bolt 14 and a spring 16 are provided in the first insertion 12 a. A mounting groove is formed on the top of the first insertion 12 a, through which a bolt head is rotated by a driver, and a penetrating hole is established below the mounting groove, through which the bolt screw portion penetrates. A spring mounting groove having a diameter larger than that of the penetrating hole is formed below the penetrating hole, in which the spring 16 is inserted.

A nut cap 17 for opening and closing oil is attached on the bottom of the spring 16 by means of the bolt 14. With the nut cap 17 is connected to the bottom of the bolt 14, the top of the nut cap 17 is elastically supported by the spring 16. A projection is established on the bottom of the nut cap 17 to be inserted into the drain hole 13. The projection may be integrally formed with the bottom. Moreover, a rubber gasket 19 is attached to the bottom of the nut cap 17 to prevent the engine oil from leaking through the drain hole 13.

A guide hole 18 is provided in the second insertion 12 b, through which the nut cap 17 for exchanging engine oil is inserted. Through the guide hole 18, the nut cap 17 is inserted into or drawn out in the direction of the drain hole 13. A projection end 17a is formed on the top of the nut cap 17 in the circumferential direction to function as a stopper so that the nut cap 17 does not come out of the guide hole 18.

The operation state of the drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle in accordance with the present invention will be described as follows.

To connect the drain cock to the engine oil pan 10, the insertion 12 for exchanging engine oil is first inserted into the receptacle 11 as shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b. Subsequently, if the bolt 14, mounted inside the first insertion 12 a, is unwound counterclockwise, the nut cap 17 connected to the bottom of the bolt 14 is loosened. Thereby, the nut cap 17 is inserted into the drain hole 13 by the compressed spring 16, thus closing the drain hole 13 (FIG. 3 c).

However, if the bolt 14 is tightened clockwise to exchange the engine oil stored in the engine oil pan 10, the nut cap 17 moves along with the guide hole 18 in the opposite direction to the drain hole 13 to open the drain hole 13. The spring 16 is thus compressed by the connection force of the bolt 14. Next, the insertion 12 for exchanging engine oil can be removed from the receptacle 11.

With the operation state as described above, embodiments of the present invention can insert or draw the insertion 12 for exchanging engine oil into or out of the receptacle 11 easily and insert the nut cap 17 for opening and closing oil into the drain hole 13 using the bolt 14 and the spring 16. Here, since there is no screw thread in the region where the drain hole 13 and the nut cap 17 are in contact with each other, it is possible to prevent the engine oil from leaking caused by the periodical exchange of engine oil.

Moreover, since the rubber gasket 19 is attached on the bottom surface of the nut cap 17, it is possible to prevent the engine oil from leaking through the drain hole 13 and, further, since the bolt 14 damaged during the exchange of engine oil can be replaced readily, it is possible to prevent an engine trouble due to the wear and tear of the bolt 14.

As described above, with drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to insert or draw the insertion for exchanging engine oil into or out of the receptacle easily and insert the nut cap for opening and closing oil into the drain hole using the bolt and the spring. Here, since there is no screw thread in the region where the drain hole and the nut cap are in contact with each other, it is possible to prevent the engine oil from leaking caused by the periodical exchange of engine oil.

Moreover, since the rubber gasket is attached on the bottom surface of the nut cap, it is possible to prevent the engine oil from leaking through the drain hole and, further, since the bolt damaged in exchanging engine oil can be replaced readily, it is possible to prevent an engine trouble due to the wear and tear of the bolt.

As above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, however, the present invention is not limited thereto, rather, it should be understood that various modifications and variations of the present invention can be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the technical scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle, comprising: a drain hole defined in a bottom of the engine oil pan; a receptacle for exchanging engine oil attached to open and close the drain hole; an insertion for exchanging engine oil inserted in or drawn out of the receptacle in a drawer type; a bolt and a spring received inside the insertion; and a nut cap for opening and closing the drain hole, connected to the bottom of the bolt.
 2. The drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein a rubber gasket is attached to a bottom of the nut cap to prevent oil leakage.
 3. The drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle as recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein the receptacle includes three walls defining an open side for receiving the insertion therein, and an opening portion provided on a top of the receptacle for facing the bottom of the engine oil pan, through which a portion of the insertion protrudes.
 4. The drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle as recited in claim 3, wherein the insertion comprises a first insertion and a second insertion, a bolt is inserted into the first insertion, a spring is inserted between the bolt and the nut cap, and a guide hole is formed in the second insertion, through which the nut cap moves in the up and down direction to open and close the drain hole.
 5. The drain cock of an engine oil pan for a vehicle as recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein a projection is established on the bottom of the nut cap and, if the bolt is unwound, the nut cap is inserted along with the guide hole into the drain hole by the elastic force of the spring so that the bottom of the nut cap presses the drain hole and the projection is inserted into the drain hole.
 6. A drain cock for an engine oil, pan, comprising: a mounting bracket configured and dimensioned to be secured to an oil pan adjacent an oil drain hole; a sealing block configured and dimensioned to be received in said bracket over the oil pan, said block defining a black hole therethrough to be aligned with the oil drain hole; a sealing member slideably received in said block hole with an end configured to meet with an seal the drain hole; and a biasing element acting between said sealing block and said sealing member to selectively seal the drain hole.
 7. The drain cock of claim 6, wherein the biasing element is a compression spring and said sealing block includes a screw mechanism for retracting the sealing member against the spring and out of the drain hole.
 8. The drain cock of claim 6, wherein the sealing member has a cylindrical protrusion surrounded by a shoulder, said protrusion being sized to be received in the drain hole. 